A Frontier Anew
by Fennrysha
Summary: Picks up a year after the end of Macross Frontier...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I do not own any of the characters, events or songs from Macross Frontier. The following is a sequel to the anime television series and does not acknowledge the two movies.**

**Many thanks to the following resources, on which I am relying for technical and character data (sorry, I don't think we can post actual links here):**

**The Macross Compendium****, Macross Mecha Designs****, Macross Mecha Manual**** and the various Wikipedia entries for all Macross entities (when I can verify the information elsewhere - it's Wikipedia after all!).**

**Chapter 1**

Skull Squadron Captain, Alto Saotome accelerated toward the attacking craft, the distance between decreasing to nothing in seconds. Shifting his VF-25 Messiah into battroid mode, the two clashed, tons of metal crashing together.

"Unnnh," grunted Alto, inertia throwing him against his restraints. "Not this time Sterne," he yelled, "you will not get away with that trick again."

There was no reply from Brera Sterne in his crimson VF-27. But in his mecha, a thin smile appeared on his face. _Alto Saotome, I will defeat you once again_.

Grappling and kicking out of holds, the two mechas twisted and shot through space among the asteroids and dust in the thin debris belt between Hinan, the planet they called home for a little more than a year now, and the next planet in the system.

Twisting free from Brera, Alto spun and took aim, ready to deal the killing shot. But before he could fire, a careening mass plowed into him from the side sending him spinning into the distance.

"What?" Alto yelled, craning his head to see what had hit him. _Did I lose track of an asteroid?_

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" came the deep, but feminine, voice from the red Queadluun-Rea battle armor.

"Klan!" Alto exclaimed, now prepping a defensive position to take on both enemies, "Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Klan Klan, the female Zentradi pilot, laughed as she raised her armored suit's arm, took aim and let loose with a barrage of fire. Alto, re-thinking his posture, quickly shifted back to fighter mode and blasted away, evading the fire but not the mecha of Brera Stern.

"You will not escape me," came Sterne's voice inside Alto's helmet, the crimson mecha now holding on to the top of Alto's fighter.

"Goddamn it! I could really use some help here," yelled Alto, knowing that help should be out there. "Where the hell are you?"

In response, a bright bolt lanced out from a distant asteroid, hitting Sterne dead center. He spun off into space, a sigh of frustration reaching Alto's ears over their open inter-craft comm.

"Damn IT!" cried Klan as she spun, scanning for the origin of the incoming fire. But before she had even begun the spin, the second shot was on its way - and on target. Klan's armor was disabled instantly.

"Tally-ho Princess Alto! You didn't think I forgot about you did you?" the female voice asked.

"You sure took your damn sweet time," Alto screamed back over the radio, trying to sound angry. But, to himself, he smiled. "We're done here. Return to base. Now."

Back on Macross Quarter's landing deck on Hinan, Alto stood in his open cockpit and watched as the blue VF-25G that had once been piloted by his friend Michael hovered next to him, it's sniper rifle mounted beneath the fuselage. His close-cropped hair barely moved in the breeze. It had been difficult for Alto to lose the long hair but as leader of Skull Squadron, he felt the short hair was more appropriate for a position of authority. And if it cut down on the "Princess" comments (it hadn't), all the better.

He let the recruit hover there for a minute. It was a standard procedure he put in place for all new recruits. If he was flying with them, they were to hover, legs down in GERWALK mode, until he landed, observed and manually signaled them down. A stable, close-to-ground hover could come in handy some day. This recruit, however, had mastered it long ago and with a tiny, almost imperceptible gesture of his finger, he signaled her down. The blue mecha cut power and settled gently on the deck.

_Textbook landing_, he thought. _I won't be able to fault her on that either. Damn_. And, again, the smile.

The cockpit canopy on the blue mecha lifted and Alto watched as the pilot finished her shutdown, ran through a checklist, stood and removed her flight helmet, blonde-pink hair falling out, past her shoulders.

"Saved you Alto-kun!" Sheryl Nome yelled, punctuating it with a wink.

Alto cringed. Nothing was ever subtle with Sheryl.

"Ahem." Captain Ozma walked out from beneath Alto's fighter. Now Captain of the Macross Quarter, Ozma still spent a lot of time with his old squadron, even during operations. "Captain Saotome, acceptable flying. Sheryl, you still need work on the aerobatics..."

"But, Sir!" she interrupted.

"BUT," the Captain continued, "you continue to impress with your sniping abilities."

Sheryl beamed. Alto rolled his eyes. He knew how Sheryl reacted to praise. She'd never let him hear the end of it.

"Sterne and Klan won't soon forget this one," said Ozma in conclusion. He looked into the sky at two rapidly growing points of light. "And speak of the devils."

Sheryl and Alto climbed out of their mechas and down to the deck of the ship. The roar of Sterne and Klan's crafts echoed over the Macross Quarter and the pair of vehicles touched down next to the two parked fighters. Klan stepped down from the front hatch of her armor as it opened.

"Excellent shooting Sheryl. I owe you an ale," Klan said, casually checking over her Queadluun-Rea, looking for any minor damage.

"Yes," from behind, made Sheryl jump. Brera Sterne had the uncanny ability to suddenly appear from nowhere and startle her. Sheryl liked Brera but, as she had put it to Alto, "the guy's still uber-mysterious."

"Your shooting skills amaze me," he said, deadpan but sincere. "I look forward to furthering your flight skills as well," he continued with a sideways glance, and a smile, at Alto.

Taking the compliment, and ignoring the rest, Sheryl exclaimed "thanks Brera!"

"OK, OK. Time for a quick debriefing, Sheryl," Alto said, and then, lowly, as he stalked past, "and then dinner."

"She's good," Brera said to Alto as they changed out of their flight suits and into their regular SMS uniforms. "I would not have expected that from someone with no military training until recently. Especially from someone as," he searched for a word, "_flighty_ as Sheryl."

"I know," lamented Alto.

"You don't seem too pleased about it Alto," Brera observed.

Alto looked up from pulling on his boot and grunted. "I'm glad she's doing well. Really. It's just the worry that is going to come along with having my girlfriend out there with Skull Squadron."

Brera shrugged. "Girlfriend, huh?"

A quizzical look appeared on Alto's face "Yes, _girlfriend_. What's wrong with that?"

"Alto, you two have been together for more than than a year now and living together for almost that entire time. Do you not think it might be time to proceed in the relationship?" he paused, "girlfriend, hmpfff!"

"You're talking marriage. I haven't even thought about that," he lied. "And how's your love life anyway Sterne?" Alto rebutted jokingly. "I'm not sure you're the one to be giving me advice in this matter!"

Brera contemplated that. He'd never had a romantic relationship. His past was one of technological connections rather than connections of the heart. He hadn't ruled the idea out - he was still a young man. But, for now, he was focused on learning to live alone, without the connections to the networked population of the Galaxy. Even after a year, the adjustment was proving daunting.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," was his only response.

An awkward pause followed.

Quietly, Alto asked, "how's your sister? How's Ranka? I haven't heard from her in a while."

"Alto, she is fine. She desired to give you and Sheryl space. She wanted that for you and needed it for herself."

"I miss her," Alto confessed, suddenly looking up, feeling the need to clarify, "she's a friend!"

"Understood," said Brera with a smile. "And she understands too. Ranka has no ill will toward you or Sheryl. She considers both of you her closest friends and she asks about you often. Besides, she's busy being `Auntie Ranka' to the baby."

Alto smiled at that. Ozma Lee and Catherine Glass hadn't wasted any time after the battle against the Vajra, Grace O'Connor and Battle Galaxy. Within weeks the two were married and within a month, pregnant. Gilliam Michael Lee came along two months ago.

"Well, I hope to see Ranka soon," he admitted.

"You will my friend. Soon," Brera replied, Alto never catching the mischievous tone or the wry smile on the usually stoic face.

Alto and Sheryl sat in the cafe enjoying dinner. Alto enjoyed seven-color carrot soup and a sandwich and Sheryl, a salad with chicken cut up and mixed in. Each enjoyed a glass of wine. Just one glass though. Both of them knew how Sheryl reacted to alcohol.

Breaking the silence with a sigh, Alto closed his eyes and paused a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Sheryl, I am very proud of how successful you have been since joining the SMS."

Sheryl, not expecting the sudden compliment, just stared at him with a shocked look on her face and one cheek bulging with food. She swallowed her food and smiled and in a soft, very un-Sheryl like way replied, "thank you Alto."

It had taken quite a while for Alto to become comfortable sharing his feelings with her. Although it wasn't unusual for him to do so these days, it still surprised her when he did. She hoped the surprise factor never went away.

Alto took another deep breath. "I think Skull Squadron has found it's new sniper," and he slid a Skull Squadron patch across the table to her. The smile on his face appeared strained. He was happy, but not totally. And it showed.

"Oh, Alto! Thank you so much," she said as she picked up the emblem and looked at it. "I have worked very hard for this and I know how conflicted you are about it."

"Yes," Alto replied.

"It's difficult for me as well," Sheryl continued. "You're well aware of how spontaneous I can be. It's taken everything I have to keep from lapsing into girlfriend mode while we're out there."

Alto smiled. There had been one or two times on an exercise, not blatant, and not obvious to anyone but himself, when Sheryl had said or done something like that. Still, she had done well with the boundaries he put in place when agreeing to her enlistment. And this wasn't the military after all. The SMS was much more relaxed in such matters.

"You've done well Skull-4," Alto replied, referring to her, now official, call sign. Sheryl met his gaze and smiled. _Skull-4_, Sheryl thought. _I like the sound of that_.

"Still," Sheryl said, suddenly getting a serious look on her face, "I'm not sure this can continue."

"Wha, what?" Alto said loudly, yanked out of what had been a sweet moment between the two. "What do you mean?"

_This is it_, he thought. _She's not happy with the boundaries and she's chosen the SMS over me. I never should have agreed to this!_

Sheryl watched his face, almost hearing Alto's thoughts. For a long time now, they almost always knew what the other was thinking.

"Alto, things have to change. And I have made a decision." Sheryl's expression was deadly serious.

_I can't believe this is happening._ Alto's mind raced. _We're perfect together. No. It can't. I'll quit the SMS first!_

"Alto," Sheryl said softly, her expression changing to tenderness as she took his hands in hers. "Alto Saotome, marry me."

He stared at her in disbelief. And stared.

"Alto?"

And stared.

"Oh Alto?"

"Yes."

"Are you OK?"

"Yes," said Alto, processing the last thirty seconds of his life as Sheryl watched. They locked eyes. "Yes, Sheryl, of course I'll marry you."

Sheryl sighed in joy as if a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Then, without warning, she launched herself at Alto and hugged him, knocking him and his chair over.

"I love you Alto!" she said as she plopped down on top of him and kissed him repeatedly.

Alto paid for the meal and the two walked out into the cool Hinan night holding hands. He turned to his right to head back to their apartment but within a step, his arm became outstretched as Sheryl had come to a stop.

"Sheryl?" Alto questioned.

"Let's go this way," she said indicating the opposite direction with a movement of her head. "I'd like to walk a little. I like the cool air."

"Uh, OK," was all Alto could muster. _Something is up_ he thought.

They walked downhill in the San Francisco district and after only a few minutes, Sheryl stopped in front of another small restaurant.

"What? Desert?" Alto joked, still wondering what, exactly, was going on.

"Better, I think," replied Sheryl as she pulled the door open.

Inside, the tables were slightly to each side of the room leaving an aisle up the middle. Only a few of those tables were occupied and Alto quickly realized he knew each and every one of the customers.

Sheryl, pulled Alto close and whispered, "you know how impatient I am my love. When I asked you to marry me, I didn't mean in six months or a year. There's no reason to wait!"

A look of realization dawned on Alto's face.

"It's our wedding," Sheryl said to Alto.

She looked Alto in the eyes, truly not knowing how he would react.

He closed his eyes in thought for a moment. _This is my life now. Spontaneous and full of surprises. Sheryl..._ He smiled and opened his eyes.

"Sheryl, this is amazing. _You_ are amazing." Then, with a worried look he whispered, "but I don't have a ring here for you."

Sheryl reached up to his left ear and removed the violet fold quartz earring he had worn ever since she had given it to him for luck prior to the battle for this very planet. And luck it had certainly brought him, in battle and in love. She then removed her own and handed it to him.

"We don't need rings, Alto. We'll exchange these again. These mean more to me than rings. These earrings _are_ us. They're connected. We're connected. Even when separated by great distances. That's us."

Alto nodded and then looked at the guests. It was a simple affair - there were just a few people here. They had discussed weddings before and both desired a small ceremony with only their closest friends. Present were Brera Sterne and the micronized version of Klan Klan. Alto's older brother, Yasaburou was present - he and Alto had become closer, at the urging of Sheryl, ever since their father's passing six months earlier. Yasaburou smiled at his brother who responded with a slight bow. Captain Ozma and Catherine Glass were there as were as Luca and Nanase and even Bobby Margot, the flamboyant helmsman of the Macross Quarter. Sheryl and he had become good friends since she joined the SMS.

But Alto was looking for one person in particular, and there, just over Captain Ozma's shoulder, Alto saw what he was looking for. Just a bit of green hair. He smiled.

"Ranka," he said softly.

She pushed between Ozma and Catherine and ran to Alto and Sheryl.

"Oh Alto! Sheryl!" she cried as she grabbed both of them and hugged them together. "I'm so happy for the both of you! When Brera told me about this I was so excited!"

"Ranka?" asked Sheryl, "could I please talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh, sure," replied Ranka, a quizzical look on her face. She looked at Alto as if to ask "what's up?" but he just shook his head and shrugged. _I'm sure Sheryl's not done with surprises_.

Sheryl and Ranka stepped away to talk in private. Sheryl facing Alto but Ranka facing away. He couldn't hear what Sheryl was saying but suddenly Ranka let out a little squeal and brought her hands up to her face.

_Uh-oh_ thought Alto. _What's she doing, warning her off?_

But then Ranka threw her arms around a smiling Sheryl and all appeared to be normal.

The two returned, holding hands, both tearing up a little.

"Alto," Sheryl began.

"Sheryl asked me to be her maid of honor!" Ranka blurted.

Sheryl and Ranka both burst into laughter.

"Perfect!" said Alto. "Ranka, I'm so glad you'll be part of this."

Sheryl turned to Alto and said, "I planned all this but hadn't asked Ranka about that part yet." She was relieved. "I did ask Brera to stand with you Alto. I hope that's OK. He said he'd understand if you wanted your brother instead."

"No, that's OK. Things are still new with my brother. Brera's become a good friend to me over the past year. And he is my wingman after all. He belongs up there with me."

Overhearing this, Brera said, "then as your wingman, I'd suggest we assume proper formation over there," he pointed to the front of the room, and adding a "Sir," with his customary deadpan humor and that hint of a smile.

Alto turned to Sheryl and sighed.

"So this is really happening, huh?"

"Oh, I'm afraid it is _Princess_," she replied in mock sympathy.

"OK then, lets get it over with," he said jokingly.

Alto started to the front of the room, only letting go of Sheryl's hand when their arms could stretch no further.

Sheryl approached the front of the room, Alto watching her intently. He wondered how he got so lucky to have this woman, once the biggest name in the galaxy, in his life. How it wasn't easy admitting to himself that he had fallen for her more than a year ago. He thought about all the clues she had thrown his way and how he had missed, or refused, to see them. It wasn't until the brink of battle that he had finally admitted to them both that he loved her and that he would not just return but return _to her._

Sheryl arrived at the front and turned to him. Ranka stood behind her, smiling. Alto was so glad she was here but wondered what she was going through right now - what she must be thinking. Alto was marrying her onetime rival in love and in music. She seemed to be over the whole triangle thing - it had been a year after all - and she had a busy life of her own with her booming music career and doting on baby Gilliam.

There was no minister or official. Just the pair's declarations of love in front of friends and family. And that was all that was required on Hinan.

This whole thing being a complete surprise to him, Alto had to wing it with his vows. He decided to speak simply and from the heart.

"Sheryl," Alto began, holding her hands, "our relationship was not easy in the beginning. I was clueless and stubborn when it came to you. But you never gave up and you broke down my walls. Now, being with you is effortless. I can not imagine my life without you. I am a different man now, with you, than I was before," he paused, and in a quieter voice that only she could hear, "and it's not just the short hair." He punctuated that with a Sheryl-esque wink.

Sheryl let out a short giggle and sighed. _Oh, how I miss your long hair._

"Sheryl," he said, taking a breath, "you are my life. You are my _sky._"

_Not bad for winging it I'd say, _thought Alto.

Sheryl's eyes were tearing up. She hadn't expected Alto to be so eloquent or open in front of others. But she kept the tears in check and began her own vows. Unlike Alto, she had planned her vows ahead of time but, like his, she went back to the beginning.

"Alto, I knew from our very first meeting that I wanted to spend my life with you. From that time in your arms soaring over the crowd when I first came to Frontier. And for all my torment and teasing, you never ran away. You've taken care of me, you've welcomed me into your life and you've supported me in endeavors in my own. I love you Alto Saotome. I love you now and forever."

They then exchanged their earrings - the earrings that connected them on so much more than a symbolic level.

And with that, they kissed lightly and turned to the crowed, man and wife. Alto and Sheryl.

Claps, handshakes and hugs signaled the end of the ceremony.

On the bridge of the SMS Macross Quarter, the bridge crew went about their duties, gossiping away the whole time.

"The Captain just messaged. It's over. They actually went through with it," Ram Hoa said as she checked her monitor.

"And another beautiful man is off the market," Monica lamented.

"Oh, please," from Mina. "You're married now too _Mrs. Wilder!_"

"But I'm not wrong am I?" Monica replied, the three breaking into giggles.

Monica and Captain Wilder had admitted their feelings for one another near the end of the Vajra conflict and followed through on them afterward. Married now, Monica continued to serve on the Quarter while Captain Wilder had accepted the Captaincy of the Battle Frontier. Still with the SMS, Wilder agreed to the position when the new Frontier President came to him for help in reorganizing the NUNS who had lost the confidence of the people following the actions and betrayal of Leon Mishima as well as the overall ineffectiveness of the NUNS as an organization. The public remained ignorant of the actions of SMS owner Richard Bilrer, who had been intimately involved in Mishima's plans and who had mysteriously disappeared either during or immediately following the final battle for Hinan.

"Seems like settling down is in fashion," Ram commented. "Captain Ozma and Cathy and the baby, you and Captain Wilder," looking at Monica, "and now the Princess and the Galactic Fairy. Who's next I wonder..."

"Galactic Fairy?" Mina asked. "Sheryl hasn't gone by that nickname in a long time. She basically quit singing to join the SMS."

"I don't know, I think of it as more of a hiatus," said Monica. "Singing is in her blood."

"I still find it hard to believe that she's now a pilot with Skull Squadron. Who would have seen that coming a year ago?" Ram said.

The three broke into that trademark giggle.

Aa alert sounded and Ram checked a flashing red icon on the communications screen. It was scrolling broken data across the monitor.

"What is it?" Monica inquired, calling up the same data on her terminal.

"Standby," Ram responded, all business now. "It's largely corrupted, but it looks like," she paused, typing in a string of code, "a level one distress call."

"Mina, call Captain Ozma. High priority," Monica ordered.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds stayed for a brief time, making sure they thanked everyone, but soon decided to head home and turn in. It was their wedding night after all. Ranka was the last person they said goodnight to.

"I'm so happy for both of you," Ranka told them. "After all we've been through," she paused, making eye contact with both of them, "I'm positive this is the way everything is supposed to be. Thank you both for making me a part of it."

The three hugged, Ranka and Sheryl tearing up, and said goodnight.

Alto and Sheryl walked home in silence, hand in hand. The only communication between them, the squeeze of a hand. It had been a whirlwind day and they were both exhausted.

They approached the apartment but Alto stopped Sheryl just as she was about to enter.

"Hold it," Alto said, shaking his head. "There's an old tradition here, my wife."

He quickly grasped her close to him and lifted her much like how he carried her the first time they met. She sighed as the pleasant memory came back to her. But instead of soaring over a stadium full of adoring fans, this time, Sheryl's adoring husband carried her over the threshold.

"Ahhh, Alto," Sheryl said, "the end of a perfect day."

"Not quite," he replied, "stay right here a second."

Sheryl made a show of planting her feet firmly and said "staying put, Sir," and added a quick salute.

Alto backed up a few steps and then quickly spun and ran to the bedroom. Sheryl could hear him rummaging through his dresser. _Now what is he up to? _

A minute later he returned, a strange look on his face.

"Sheryl, I know what you said earlier, and I agree with you that these earrings mean so much to us. But, I want you to have this," Alto said, holding out his open hand.

Sheryl looked and saw he was holding a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh, Alto." Sheryl brought her hands up to her mouth as her eyes quivered.

"It was my mother's," he said, momentarily choking up. "My father gave it to me before he died. He made me swear it was for you and only you. We may not have agreed on much but he knew you were the one for me."

He placed the ring on her finger.

"Alto, I don't know what to say. I love you."

They stood gazing into each other's eyes.

And very quietly, and very softly, and for the first time in a long time, Sheryl sang, "_how fantastic to be with you - my love._"

"Mrs. Saotome," Alto whispered.

"No way. _Mr._ Nome!" Sheryl replied.

They giggled and leaned in for what promised to be a long, deep kiss.

And that's when the alerts went off on their phones.

9


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Alto was eager to find out what kind of emergency was worth calling him and Sheryl to duty on their wedding night. _Not a single emergency call for a year and there has to be one tonight of all nights._

"Come on Sheryl. We'll be the last ones there," he said.

"I'm two feet behind you! It's not like I'm slowing you down," she came back.

They rounded the final corner and could hear that the briefing had already begun.

All heads turned as Alto bounded through the hatch and came to a dead stop, causing Sheryl to run into him.

"Jeez, don't stop short like that Alto!" Sheryl scolded before realizing all eyes were on them.

"Saotome, Nome," Captain Ozma said, "nice of you to join us."

"Sorry, Sir," the two replied in unison.

Ozma smiled at that. _If these two don't belong together, I don't know who does._

They stood to the side of the crowded briefing room as the Captain continued.

"As I was saying, at 2130, we received a distress call from the direction of the galactic core. The message was full of static and originated from what appears to be a colony ship in trouble. The ship's identity is unknown." He nodded to Ram Hoa at a nearby console and the audio message began playing.

A female voice spoke very deliberately but without panic: "This is the colony sh..." static "disabled and adri..." static. The static continued for several seconds before it continued. "...in fold for..." static "...scort ships... destroyed and only three remain... level one distress call. To any and all... distress. Request immediate assistan..."

There, the message ended.

"Comments?" Ozma asked.

"Are we sure it isn't a trick, Sir?" asked Luca. "The Galaxy's main island maybe? We know she's still out there somewhere."

Alto glanced at Sheryl who simply closed her eyes in thought. She had hated the Galaxy, but it had still been her home for all but the past year of her life. The memory of what had happened to that colonization fleet still weighed heavily upon her. She shook it off and made eye contact with Alto, mouthing the words "I'm OK" to him.

"There _is_ that possibility," the Captain answered. "However, we are bound by law to respond and investigate."

_We're going active_ thought Alto, a grin appearing on his face. _It's been a while._

"To that end, we've procured several fold boosters from L.A.I. for immediate use," Ozma said, nodding to Luca who had, once again, pulled some strings with his family's company to get them.

"Saotome?" Ozma called.

"Sir!"

"You're leading the mission. Chose three pilots to accompany you. Luca's going too. I want his recon capabilities out there in case it becomes a search and rescue operation." Ozma then turned to Luca, "take your Ghost Drones as well. They could come in handy either in SAR or some other unexpected situation. Alto?"

Without missing a beat, Alto called out, "Klan, Sterne, Nome, you're with me.'

"Yes, Sir!" a trio of voices responded from around the room.

"OK. Captain Saotome, you and your team stay for a moment. Everyone else, dismissed."

The briefing room emptied and the five pilots approached the podium at the front.

"Sorry to call on you two tonight," Ozma said, turning to Alto and Sheryl.

Alto was about to respond when Sheryl answered "it's all part of the job, Sir!."

The Captain looked at Alto and smiled, tilting his head in Sheryl's direction as if to say "see what you've got there, Alto."

Alto smiled.

Ozma turned to the Zentradi teen. "The fold booster isn't adaptable to your power-armor Klan. You'll have to take a VF-25 out and you'll have to do so in your micronized state. Any issues with that?"

"No, SIR!" she answered in that high-pitched voice of hers.

"Good." The micronized Klan may take the form of an adolescent but she could still pilot the hell out of a VF-25. "In the meantime, we'll get the Quarter ready for flight in case we're needed."

Neither the Macross Quarter nor the Battle Frontier had flown since the final battle against the Vajra. Both were still undergoing extensive repairs suffered in the war.

"The Quarter is still a couple weeks away from being space-worthy. But we'll pull workers from the Frontier and get it done as quickly as possible in case you need us. If they require a mass evacuation, you'll need the Quarter," Ozma stated. "But even once she's ready, it's still at least a 30-day real-time fold. Luca, you've got to get your boys working on a bigger fold booster."

"They already are, Sir," Luca agreed.

They were indeed working on it. Unfortunately, the sheer size and mass of ships as big as the Quarter was the stumbling block. With current tech, a super fold booster to assist the Quarter would need to be more than half as big as the ship itself. And the amount of power required for it to maintain a fold... Luca didn't even want to think about that. Still, the Vajra could do it with their big ships. _I'd love to get my hands on one of those,_ thought Luca. _We could learn a lot from them_.

Captain Ozma called up a space chart on the holo-display showing their route and destination.

"You'll drop communications buoys here and here," he said, indicating areas roughly one and two thirds of the distance between Hinan and the disabled colony ship. "Contact the Quarter at each drop point and maintain regular contact upon reaching the objective."

"Yes, Sir," Alto replied.

"OK, you all know what to do. Sheryl, just take it easy," Captain Ozma said. "No worries out there. Alto wouldn't have chosen you if he wasn't confident in your abilities."

"Thank you, Sir," Sheryl replied, glancing at Alto with a lopsided grin.

"All of you, be careful out there and do Skull Squadron proud. Dismissed! Wheels up in 30 minutes. I'll get the crews started on prepping your fighters."

"Yes, SIR," five voices replied.

In the men's ready room, Alto, Brera and Luca were pulling their flight gear on including their EX-Gear.

"Alto?"

"What is it Luca?"

"I'm sorry to ask this but do you really think Sheryl-san is ready for an active mission?"

Alto had expected this and he glanced at Brera who just shrugged as if saying "valid point."

"Guys, she's been training for nine months. And she's an incredible sniper. This is a good mission for her. We're not expecting combat so it's a chance for her to get out there and get her feet wet. Satisfied?" Alto realized his response sounded more defensive than he had intended.

Luca looked at Brera and both broke into grins.

"Jeez," Alto complained, realizing he'd just been the victim of a joke.

Despite the prank, he added, "besides, if things get hairy, I'll have her find a nice, safe sniper position and do her thing."

"She's ready," Brera said to reassure Alto. "She was ready a while ago. The only thing lacking was a mission."

"For all of us," Alto agreed.

They finished suiting up and checked each others' gear.

"Let's go," Alto said.

Sheryl came out of the stall wiping the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

"Oh shit, Nome! You puked?" Klan yelled, before bursting into laughter.

"Shut up!" Sheryl responded before dropping down onto the bench in the women's ready room. She took a deep breath. "I guess I'm more nervous than I thought I would be."

Klan let her laughter trail off and sat next to Sheryl.

"Hey, we all were before our first mission."

"Really?"

"Uhh, no," Klan confessed. "I was just trying to make you feel better." She let out a loud whoop of a laugh.

Sheryl's shoulders sank. Klan was definitely _not _making her feel better about this.

"Well, Luca was, if that helps," Klan added.

"Not really," Sheryl replied. "What about Alto?"

"Well, his first mission was unexpected. He was kind of thrown into it and didn't really have time to get nervous," she said, thinking back. "Alto saved my life that day you know."

"Oh?" Sheryl asked. "Tell me."

"As long as you get moving and get ready, Nome! The men are probably already waiting for us!"

"Deal!" Sheryl perked up and started changing into her gear.

Klan continued suiting up and began.

"It was his practical test. Mock combat in an asteroid belt and ancient Zentradi battlefield. Alto, Luca and," she paused, remembering her lost love, "Michael."

Sheryl stopped what she was doing and looked up in sympathy but Klan shook it off and continued.

"Those three were taking on my Pixie Squadron when a Vajra de-folded right on top of us. I ordered everyone back to the Quarter since Pixie Squadron had live ammo from a scouting mission we had just been on. Well, you know Alto. He refused to run, of course, and actually charged at the Vajra. He had no live ammo, mind you. He was going to attack with nothing but his combat knife. So I intervened. I took a shot at the Vajra. Hit it but didn't kill it. Then the bastard shot me right back. My power armor was disabled and I was a sitting duck. Then, here comes the Princess with a thousand-year-old Zentradi cannon he had spotted earlier in some wreckage. And he lands on the Vajra, jams the cannon into the damage my shot had done earlier and fires right into it. Point blank. It was a huge fireball. The Vajra just disappeared. I thought Alto had bought it for sure. Did a _ton_ of damage to his VF." She laughed. "Ozma was so pissed!"

Sheryl zipped up her flight suit and was just putting her EX-Gear on.

"He's never told me that," she said.

"Well, commanding officers aren't supposed to be so reckless," Klan replied. "And he'll probably chew me out if he finds out I told you about it! So keep it to yourself!"

"It'll be our secret," Sheryl confided.

"Secrets from the husband already, Nome?" Klan said before breaking into laughter again.

She locked her own EX-Gear's belt around her waist and sighed.

"I don't know how you humans do it."

"Do what?"

"This!" Klan yelled. She then shifted to a much softer tone than normal. "I feel so fragile like this." She held out her arms in a display. "Micronized. And going on a mission like this? I must be insane!"

Now it was Sheryl's turn to laugh.

"Hey! What's so funny about that?" Klan yelled, getting in Sheryl's face and poking her with a finger.

"You, Klan. Get real!"

Klan's face began to turn red in anger

"Even like this, in the body of child," Sheryl paused, "you're still the toughest bitch I know!"

Klan jumped back and a smile slowly spread across her face.

"Well, OK then!" the young Meltran said.

"OK then," Sheryl mimicked.

They double checked each other's gear and headed for the door.

"Hey, Nome?"

"Yes."

"Thanks."

"You too," said Sheryl, giving Klan's arm a little squeeze.

Klan returned the gesture - in the form of a bruising punch to Sheryl's upper arm.

The five pilots entered the hanger and gathered in a small circle.

"Luca?" Alto said.

"Captain," Luca began, "fold time will be approximately three hours, forty-two minutes. Thanks to the fold boosters though, that will be real-time. No lag."

Without super fold boosters, an almost four-hour fold meant almost forty days would pass in real time. The basic rule of thumb was that for every one hour spent in fold, ten _days_ would pass in normal space. If a spacecraft hit a fold fault, those mysterious barriers in fold space that had begun appearing about a decade earlier, the lag could become much worse. New tech, however, facilitated folds with no lag time and allowed navigation through fold faults. The trick, however, was actually getting access to the new super fold booster. There were very few in existence. They were all built by L.A.I. and all of them (save for a couple sent back to Earth for testing) were located here on Hinan. And, most importantly, they were suitable only for small personal fighters. This meant that should Skull Squadron need help, the most they could hope for were a few extra fighters. The big capital ships or the Macross Quarter would take more than a month to reach them.

"We will drop fold communications pods at two locations on our route. The coordinates are pre-determined and we'll all drop out of fold at each drop point so we can stay together. At the final fold-out point, we'll drop out slightly off the mark so we can observe what we're getting into - we don't want to de-fold right in the middle of a firefight, a debris field or some other hazard that may be in the target zone. I'll do an immediate scan of the area and the Captain will assess the situation." Luca nodded to Alto signifying he was finished with his briefing.

"OK Skull," Alto said, "it's been a while since we've been on anything other than a training mission. And there a bunch of firsts with this one."

He slowly looked at each team member.

"A rookie, a new team member, Klan, well-"

"Just bring it!" yelled the pint sized Zentradi warrior and everyone laughed.

"And," Alto continued, "a new leader. I promise you all that I will not only command but _serve_ you all to the best of my abilities. Although I'm your commanding officer, you are my comrades and friends..."

"And wife," yelled Klan, giving a mortified looking Sheryl a shove.

"And, yes, there's that," Alto allowed with a smile. "If I can lead half as well as Captain Ozma once led this squadron, I'll consider that a success."

The group looked at Alto, smiling and appreciating his words.

"OK, what are you all standing around for? Let's get going!" Alto yelled.

The circle shrunk and each member of the team gave an encouraging word to Alto.

"Well said," from Brera.

"I look forward to serving, Leader," Luca declared.

"You've come a long way Alto," Klan said before clapping him roughly on the arm. Even in micronized form, she packed quite a punch.

Three of the pilots headed to their respective mechas leaving Alto and Sheryl standing there together. Sheryl took it all in with a sigh. Alto looked at her and smiled.

"Well said indeed," a gruff voice said, surprising Alto and Sheryl. They turned to see Captain Ozma approaching, Ranka accompanying him. "Especially the part about only doing half as well as I."

"Captain. Ranka!" Alto said.

"Hi Alto-kun. Hi Sheryl-san!" Ranka said giving them a little wave. "I just wanted to say good luck!"

Sheryl and Ranka hugged.

"Thanks for coming to see us off. Some honeymoon, huh?" Sheryl said, drawing a grimace from Alto.

"I don't know," Ranka replied, ever the optimist, "at least it's a little adventure!"

Sheryl smiled. "You know, you're absolutely right!" she said, appreciating Ranka's amazing ability to cheer her up. "I've got to go now. Thanks again for coming."

They hugged again.

"I'll be watching the take-offs from the bridge," Ranka said and added in a whisper, "show the others how it's done."

Sheryl chuckled, "I will."

"Good luck Alto," Ozma said, offering his hand in place of a salute.

"Thanks, Sir. We'll be in touch at the first comm buoy drop. Thanks for seeing us off Ranka-chan."

"Good luck Alto!" Ranka said as she threw threw her arms around him adding lowly, "you watch Sheryl's butt out there."

"Always," he replied with a smile, triggering a blush and a giggle from Ranka.

"Captain," Ozma said.

"Captain," Alto replied before each spun and went their separate ways.

Skull Squadron readied their craft. Klan sat and toggled a switch. The floor pedals rose to her feet, the seat moved forward, the cockpit seemed to shrink around her. If it weren't for the cockpit's adaptive abilities, she would never be able to take part in this mission.

Brera merely sat in the crimson VF-27 and thought through the start-up process. His VF-27 was the only place he still used his cybernetic implants. Engines fired. _All systems go_ he thought and the crimson plane began rolling.

Luca pressed buttons and checked numerous read-outs. "Ghost units nominal. Recon pack nominal. All systems nominal," he reported.

Sheryl checked the status of her craft. All was normal. "Craft status: ready," she reported. "Pilot status: nervous," she added to no one in particular. She began her roll out to the flight deck. Looking to her right, she caught Alto watching her as he did his own pre-flight. He smiled at her and gave her a quick wink before returning to his checklist.

Alto's readout flashed the customary "READY" screen and he tested his controls.

Ahead of him, Klan had just been the first to launch, her afterburners rapidly shrinking into the night sky, and Brera was just waiting for the OK.

"Here we go," Alto said to himself.

Skull-1, Alto, was the last to launch and he quickly joined the other four in formation for a flyover of Island 1, Battle Frontier and, finally, Macross Quarter. As they flew past the bridge of the Quarter, Alto spied the waving Ranka Lee and wiggled his wings in acknowledgement.

"OK Skull. Proceed to fold point on my mark. Three, two, one, Mark."

The five craft, all bearing armor packs and the streamlined super fold boosters, accelerated into a full climb. The planet's ring, actually the solid, boney-looking former habitat of the Vajra, was coming up quickly.

As they passed it by, Alto wondered if it was truly empty. Everyone assumed the Vajra had all left following that final battle. All except Ranka's friend Ai-kun anyway. But no one had yet attempted a landing on the ring. He didn't know if it was superstition, fear or some other reason, but aside from orbital observation cameras, it had not been explored. The government had done only enough research on it to know it was stable - it wasn't going to come crashing down on their heads - and that appeared to be enough for them. Yet Alto was increasingly curious about both the ring as well as the Vajra. They had turned out not to be the enemy they had thought and feared and had actually allied themselves with the Frontier's forces during the final battle. And in a stunning sacrifice, thousands of Vajra gave their lives to save Island 1 from complete destruction at the hands of Battle Galaxy's main gun.

Thinking back to that emotional day, he hit a switch and called up a private channel.

"Sheryl?"

"Alto?" came the reply

"I'm glad you're here."

Sheryl smiled inside her helmet. "Really?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd be more worried for you but I'm not. Your confidence must be rubbing off on me."

"Well you could show a _little_ concern for me. It is my first mission after all and I'm nervous as hell!" she exclaimed. "Klan will probably tell you later, I lost my dinner in the ready room!"

Laughter came over the comm.

"Alto!" Sheryl yelled defensively.

"It's OK. It's pretty normal. A lot of pilots do that before every mission!"

"Oh," Sheryl said. "Well, I hope it's a one-time thing for me!"

"I'm sure it is," replied her husband and commanding officer.

A tone sounded in their helmets followed by Luca's voice.

"Approaching fold coordinates."

"Roger," Alto responded. "All craft activate fold boosters."

The five pilots tapped in the short code that began powering up the pods mounted atop each craft. Within seconds, all pilots had reported successful activation.

"Macross Quarter, all craft preparing to fold. We'll be in touch," Alto reported.

"Roger, Skull-1. Godspeed," came Ozma's voice over the comm.

Five glowing portals appeared in front of the spacecraft, the gates into fold-space shimmering in the colors of the spectrum.

"All craft, ready," Alto commanded. "Three, two, one, fold."

Four VF-25s and one VF-27 advanced into the gateways.

Space fold was a relatively uneventful form of travel. Unless the pilot chose to exit fold-space early, the flight computers controlled everything. The pilot _could_ take over - there just wasn't usually a reason to. Because of this, Alto was never too fond of fold travel. It wasn't flying. It was riding. And it was boring. Sheryl never really liked it either but for an entirely different reason. She was prone to fold lag - that sick, worn out feeling that affected so many people during and following fold travel. Thankfully, Canaria had medicine that took care of that and it was no longer a problem for Sheryl. Still, as soon as they entered the fold, Sheryl set an alarm and notified Alto she'd be taking a nap.

"It's been quite a day for me!" she told him before signing off.

Brera, on the other hand, enjoyed the light show in fold-space and just sat there taking it in and meditating. Klan chatted with Alto every few minutes discussing everything from Ranka's newest song to how weird it felt to be in a VF-25 to hair styles to how awful this year's Miss Macross was. Alto could only roll his eyes. _She's certainly a talker when she's micronized_ Alto thought. Luca spent his time running diagnostics on the recon package of his specialized RVF-25, talking to his Ghosts and going over reports for L.A.I. Everyone did their own thing in a fold.

The first fold-out to drop a comm buoy went as planned and Luca sent a check-in message back to Hinan confirming their location. They didn't bother waiting for a response. It would be close to an hour for the signal to reach Hinan and another for the response to come back.

Upon reaching the second drop point, the five pilots discovered they had emerged into the middle of an uncharted debris field. They quickly determined it was yet another ancient Zentradi battlefield. In other words, lots of metal, low-level radiation and other forms of debris that would cause trouble for a comm buoy. A quick fold got them out of the area and into clear space where Luca detached the final pod.

"OK Skull, here we go. We're still an hour out but I want everyone checking and double checking their systems," Alto ordered. "Nap time's over, lets go."

"Three, two, one, de-fold. Look sharp people," Alto radioed to his team.

Upon re-entering normal space, Klan, Ranka and Brera immediately slowed while Alto and Luca went ahead for a recon. The radome atop Luca's fighter began turning, scanning the area.

In the distance, everyone could see the brilliant point of light slowly moving against the backdrop of stars. It slowly brightened and then dimmed, repeating the sequence. That was their target although no one could make out any detail from this distance.

"Everything looks clear Captain," Luca reported. "The only ship I'm seeing in the vicinity is that one. There are three other vessels pretty far out. Probably the escorts mentioned in the distress call. She appears to be adrift and in a slow spin. I'm not reading any radio traffic whatsoever."

"Weird," said Alto. "No distress signal even?"

"Nope. They're quiet. So are the other three," answered Luca. "Captain, my active scans can't lock-on either. That ship's putting out some kind of field. It doesn't appear to be dangerous but it's definitely got my scanners confused."

"OK gang, lets proceed. Luca, keep an eye on those other three ships," Alto said. "When we get closer I'll attempt to make contact."

The fighters accelerated toward the point of light. It steadily grew and over the next few minutes they were able to make out a little detail. _That spin should make landing fun _Alto thought. The entire forward part of the ship was transparent. It was dark inside but it looked as if a city was contained within. _OK_, Alto remembered, _not unusual for a colony ship_. _But not a recent one. _This entire ship was only a fraction of the size of a New-Macross class main island. Any concern he had about this being Galaxy's main island evaporated. But a new mystery took its place. _Just what ship is this?_

"Attention unidentified ship. Attention unidentified ship." Alto called over the open comm. This is Captain Alto Saotome of the 25th New Macross-Class Colonial Fleet and the planet Hinan responding to your distress signal. Please reply."

There was no response. Alto repeated his hail but the result was the same.

"Keep broadcasting standard hails Luca," Alto said. "They've either lost comm capability or they're purposely not answering."

"Or it could be that field, Captain," said Luca. "I've done a quick analysis of it and I think it could be interfering with communications. I'm guessing their distress call probably came from a pod they jettisoned clear of the field."

As they approached closer, Alto began to make out more details. He noticed the framework of the ship holding the transparent sections of the hull in place appeared almost organic. Occasional lights flickered inside the superstructure. Two enormous struts, really just extensions of the main hull, jutted out from the rear portion of the ship. Each carried two massive engine assemblies. And high above the bulk of the ship was the bridge. And a bridge it was - in every sense of the word. From both sides of the top of the hull, two supports angled up and over. They created, quite literally, a bridge over the top of the ship. Mounted dead center of that bridge was the control center. The huge, transparent front looked so much like other bridges Alto had seen. And there were lights on inside.

"I'm going to have a look at the bridge. The rest of you hold back," Alto said.

Slowly, he approached the nerve center of the ship. A weird feeling came over him. It was a feeling of recognition. He'd seen this ship before. _Probably in history books he thought_. He slowed and used his thrusters to match the speed and spin of the ship, trying to get a look into the huge transparent front of the bridge. His eyes were immediately drawn to the emblem on the floor. It was something he absolutely remembered from history books. The red circle around the white, bifurcated, four pointed design. It was the old style U.N. Spacy rondel. Below the symbol, Alto could make out writing. It was the ship's designation. He could see it clear as day but he didn't believe it. Alto had to read it three time before convincing himself it was real.

"Guys," he reported excitedly, "I think we just found Megaroad-01."

He looked again just to be sure. The designation read "SDF-2 Megaroad-01."

"It's the SDF-2!"

10


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"The Megaroad" Luca questioned. "She's been missing for more than 60 years!"  
>"I know," Alto answered. "And there's never been any clue as to what happened to her and her fleet. Looks like we've got one answer right here. I'm going to take a closer look at the bridge. The lights are on, let's see if anyone's home."<br>He shifted his VF-25 into battroid mode and edged in. Suddenly, he saw movement. Several people rushing to the front of the control center to look out.  
>"They're there!" Alto yelled. "I see crew members."<br>As he looked on, the crew that had run to the front of the bridge appeared to be ordered back to their stations and a single figure moved forward. It was a woman in a white and blue uniform.  
>"Megaroad 01, Megaroad 01, this is SMS Captain Alto Saotome. Do you read?"<br>There was no response.  
>"I don't think they're receiving you Alto," Luca said. He had moved up next to and slightly behind Skull-1.<br>"OK. Let's try this then."  
>Alto raised the left arm of his mecha up to where the ear would be on the humanoid shaped vehicle.<br>The woman immediately understood and shook her head. Alto could read her lips "communications down."  
>Hmmm, Alto thought. "We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way."<br>He keyed in a quick command. "Here goes nothing."  
>Using one of his trigger keys on his joystick, he began a series of irregular pulses of his mecha's exterior lights.<br>"Morse code!" exclaimed Luca.  
>"You got it," replied Alto. Luca may have access to all that new tech, but sometimes it's the old fashioned stuff that gets the job done.<br>Almost instantly the woman knew what he was doing and Alto could see her translating and speaking it out loud.  
>"Megaroad 01, This is SMS Capt. Alto Saotome responding to distress signal. Request permission to come aboard."<br>Someone brought the woman a beacon and she aimed it at Alto and began her own series of light pulses in response.  
>"Permission granted. Starboard landing bay."<br>She looked relieved and added a quick salute.  
>Alto, directed his mecha through a return salute, drawing a smile from the woman who immediately began to turn and head out. But something stopped her and she spun back to Alto.<br>He hadn't even fully registered her abrupt movement before something slammed into him, sending him spinning.  
>"Alto!" Luca cried.<br>"What the hell was that?" Alto yelled, trying to get his bearings.  
>"We're under attack," Luca reported, already climbing away from the colony ship. "Unknown craft came out of nowhere. They must have been hiding on the hull somewhere."<br>"Luca, get out of range of this field and get us some help!"  
>"Roger!" Luca said, already hitting the afterburners.<br>Alto searched for a target and found one. Transforming back into fighter mode, he headed after it. It was a white craft with two long legs. It took a few seconds but Alto recognized it as an old Zentradi tactical scout battle pod.  
>"Damn," he muttered to himself. "It's an antique."<br>Antique or not, it was directly in front of the Megaroad's bridge and looked like it was preparing to fire.  
>"Oh no you don't," Alto said as he took aim and let loose with his Gatling gun pod. It was only a glancing hit but the battle pod took off in the opposite direction. As Alto gave pursuit, he could see the woman on the bridge yelling orders. He blasted past the bridge and over the side of the Megaroad, closing on the battle pod.<br>This thing is no match for a VF-25 Alto thought. Who is even still using those things? His confidence disappeared as he came down the side of the huge ship and twisted back underneath. Instead of an easy kill, Alto was suddenly confronted with no fewer than 20 more of the antiquated craft. Some were just hovering there while some were still climbing out of crevasses on the irregularly shaped hull.  
>"Jesus!" he yelled as jerked the VF-25 back into battroid mode, twisted it around and headed off. Alto was now the pursued.<p>

The static on Luca's comm cleared up.  
>"Skull flight. Skull flight," Luca yelled into the comm, "we are under attack by at least 15 hostiles. Recognition software identifies them as Ectromelia Reguld tactical scout battle pods. Repeat, we are under attack."<br>"Ectromelia..." came Klan's voice. "Those haven't been in use for decades!"  
>"Roger," Brera cut her off. "On our way. Luca, prep the Ghosts in case we need them."<br>"Roger," Luca said, turning his mecha back to the battle.  
>We're coming Alto, Sheryl thought.<p>

Alto led the hostile craft away from the Megaroad, spun and launched a complement of missiles. The pods scattered, missiles taking out three of them. The remaining battle pods returned to the chase as Alto spun again, shifted back to fighter mode and led them back toward the Megaroad. As he approached, a stream of fire from above picked off several of the pursuing pods. Brera Sterne and Klan Klan had entered the fray.  
>"Thanks guys," Alto called.<br>"No problem," Klan responded. "Who the hell are these guys?"  
>"Unknown. But it's safe to assume they're Zentradi. They'd have to be to pilot those things," Alto surmised.<br>There were still battle pods pursuing Alto as he went under the colony ship a second time. Klan and Sterne brought up the rear.  
>"Heads up you two. There were more camped out under here," Alto warned.<br>Twisting around a bulge in the hull, he saw them. At least ten more battle pods latched onto the hull. They launched themselves in front of Alto but he evaded and blew past, Klan and Brera picking off a couple with guns. No one wanted to use missiles so close to the Megaroad. Now, Alto was leading a string of 17 battle pods, followed by Sterne's VF-27 and Klan in her VF-25.  
>Alto smiled. He knew what was about to happen. It was set up almost perfectly.<br>Coming up the starboard side of the Megaroad, he keyed the comm and said, "two seconds."  
>No response. But he hadn't expected one.<br>Alto's VF-25 cleared the top of the Megaroad and turned, heading away from the ship and the battle pods dutifully followed. As as the first turned, it erupted in flame. The second flew directly into the fireball and was shredded by debris. The pursuing pods scattered but not before two more were destroyed by the hidden sniper.  
>"Nice shooting Skull-4," Alto radioed.<br>"Copy," was the business-like response.  
>Alto turned back again, still leading a handful of battle pods.<br>Brera and Klan continued dogfighting beneath the ship.  
>Just as Alto was about to cross over the Megaroad again, he spied more craft. But these were not Zentradi battle pods. Fighters were launching from the colony ship's bay and Alto recognized them as older model VFs. He wasn't sure which. Probably VF 3s or 4s.<br>Again, Alto began to traverse the ship as the battle pods followed. But now the fighters launched from the Megaroad curved up and formed up directly behind. The battle had been joined and the remaining battle pods were easy pickings.  
>But Alto dropped over the side of the ship again, followed by the Megaroad's fighters, ready to assist Brera and Klan. Coming down the side of the vessel, he twisted beneath and witnessed to Klan, in battroid mode, grappling with, of all things, a green Queadluun-Rau, the precursor to her own preferred armor. And she was making short work of it. She quite literally dismantled it. First, Klan tore off its left arm at the shoulder. Then, as momentum twisted it around, she grabbed its right arm and twisted it off at the elbow. Then, in one fluid motion, Klan threw the arm back at the craft, drew her combat knife, its pinpoint shield activated, and slashed the Queadluun-Rau from the groin area, diagonally up to the shoulder. Atmosphere, hydraulic fluid and blood spewed into space and the machine went dead.<br>Alto quickly checked the immediate area and saw Brera's VF-29 in battroid mode coming up on the opposite side of Klan's melee.  
>But the voice that spoke to Alto was not Brera's.<br>"Nice flying. Alto, you said your name was?"  
>It took Alto a second before he realized it was one of the antiquated VFs.<br>"Yes. You too. You saved my ass back there," Alto responded.  
>"I don't know about that. We were late to this party. And it looks like your team had things pretty much under control. Especially this one down here. That's some nice hand-to-hand. Still, I'm glad we could lend a hand." He paused, "I'm Hikaru Ichijyo, Captain, Skull Squadron. Nice to meet you Alto."<p>

Having dispatched Luca and Brera to a distance to send a message briefing Captain Ozma on the situation, Alto, Sheryl and Klan waited for the Megaroad's fighters land. Ichijyo, Alto thought. If Alto were ever to admit he had a hero, Hikaru Ichijyo would be it. Ichijyo's exploits during the great Space War were known by virtually all combat pilots. The Mihoshi Academy back on Hinan even had the statue of his VF-1 Valkyrie atop the building. Alto had to point that fact out to Sheryl when she asked who Ichijyo was. When she still showed no sign of recognition, he sighed and mentioned that movie. Even though the movie was largely (ok, hugely) inaccurate, everyone knew it as a classic. And that clued Sheryl in.

"Alto!" called Sheryl, shaking him out of thought. "You're up."  
>He saw a space suited crewman signaling that he was cleared for landing. Alto eased his VF-25 into the bay and touched down on the interior runway that ran through the middle of the ship. Interesting setup he thought. He could see that it was open at the far end for any aborted landings. He brought his VF-25 to a halt and pulled into a staging area as he watched Sheryl, and then Klan land. The three parked their fighters to the side and powered down. Crewmen swung gantries into place and the three pilots climbed out of their cockpits and met up on the catwalk running against the back wall of this part of the landing bay.<br>"Alto!" Sheryl said, throwing her arms around him.  
>"Sheryl, you did really well out there."<br>"Thank you," she said quietly, still holding him tightly.  
>"You OK?" he whispered.<br>"Yes. I'm just coming down from the adrenaline I think."  
>Klan stood off to the side, allowing the husband and wife their moment.<br>"Klan," Alto finally acknowledged as Sheryl loosened her grip and separated herself from him. "That was some nice work. Uhh, rather intense actually."  
>"Just because I'm tiny doesn't mean I can't still kick some ass!" she responded in what appeared to be the exact opposite of Sheryl. "Hey, I heard you bagged a few, Nome!" she said as she gave Sheryl a shove.<br>"Yes," was all she could manage.  
>"Oh," Klan responded quietly, glancing at Alto. She knew that first combat could be stressful for some recruits.<br>Alto stepped to her and quietly said "keep an eye on her, OK?"  
>"Yeah."<br>A crewman approached. "Captain Saotome?"  
>"Yes?"<br>"This way, Sir."  
>The three followed, Sheryl slipping her hand into Alto's. And he was OK with that.<p>

They turned a corner into a large section of the landing bay. Several fighters were being secured. Alto gazed at them. They were VF-4 Lightning IIIs. Classics, he thought. The long fuselage and the huge wing area. The winglets just behind and above the cockpit. The large engine pods mounted mid-wing. He was amazed they were still using them. Then again, he reminded himself, they've been lost for more than 50 years. They've never received plans for newer tech.  
>"They're probably antiques to you right?" a voice said loudly behind him. Alto turned to see a man probably in his late 20s. He was dressed in a bulky, white flight suit that looked more like an old fashion space suit. The pilot carried his equally bulky flight helmet in his left arm and had a large mop of black hair on top of his head.<br>"You can say that again," Alto said turning back to the planes.  
>"You're Alto Saotome, right?"<br>"Yes."  
>The man put out his hand.<br>"Captain Hikaru Ichijyo. Welcome aboard the 'Road."  
>Alto's mouth dropped open. He had been expecting a man closer to 70. Instead, here stood a man maybe a decade older than himself.<br>"Alto? What's wrong?" Sheryl asked, snapping him back.  
>"What? Nothing." He grasped the man's hand and they shook.<br>"This is Klan Klan," Alto said as Hikaru shook her hand and made a mental note of the unusual name.  
>"And this is Sheryl Nome. This is her first mission."<br>"Sheryl Nome Saotome," Sheryl corrected, glancing at a blushing Alto.  
>"Ahh," Hikaru said, shaking Sheryl's hand. "Pleased to meet you all. I look forward to meeting the rest of your team when they land."<br>"I'm sorry," Alto said. "Did you say Hikaru Ichijyo?"  
>"I did," he replied, smiling, sensing Alto's confusion. "Come on. Let's go see the boss. All will be explained"<br>The man walked past the three. Klan and Sheryl both laughed as they saw Alto shake his head in bewilderment.

They followed Ichijyo to a lift and got in. The doors closed and they could feel the upward motion. Alto stared at Ichijyo. His son? Grandson? It is a generational ship after all. The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. The four entered a corridor and walked a few meters before coming to a halt at a closed door. Ichijyo pressed a button and a female voice said "enter" over the intercom. The door slid open and the four filed in. The woman was just getting up from behind her desk. She came over, her hand out.  
>"Captain Saotome, I'm Major Misa Hayase Ichijyo, Commander of the Megaroad 01."<br>"What?" was all Alto could get out.  
>"We'd better explain it to him Misa or I think his head's going to explode," Hikaru called from across the large office as he poured five cups of water.<br>Noticing the perplexed look on Alto's face Misa smiled.  
>"Have a seat and I'll explain everything," she paused. "Or, what I can anyway."<br>Misa introduced herself to Klan and Sheryl and then the three newcomers sat on a couch set against the wall as Hikaru brought a tray with the cups of water over. The Captain half sat on the front of her desk, her feet still on the floor.  
>"First, thank you for taking care of those battle pods. That one was set to take out the bridge until you intervened Captain."<br>"No problem, Major," was the only reply Alto could muster, still finding it difficult to believe who he was talking to.  
>So, before I begin, tell me what you know about our ship and our mission," Misa said.<br>Sheryl and Klan looked at Alto.  
>"Well, it was the first large scale colonization ship launched. That was in 2012. And the fleet's general trajectory was in the direction of the galactic core. Contact was lost sometime in 2016. Although the government didn't announce that for many years. As far as anyone knew, the Megaroad 01 was still in contact and still going about her mission."<br>Misa raised an eyebrow at that.  
>"The colonization effort was still relatively new and they didn't want the public to lose faith in it," Alto explained, reaching back to various history classes he took as a student. "That's about all I know I'm afraid."<br>"Well, he's got the basics," Hikaru said.  
>"OK," began Misa, "in July 2016, we came under attack by a Zentradi fleet. We assumed they were just another faction opposed to the Human-Zentradi alliance. We quickly found out they had other motives which I'll get to later. The Megaroad wasn't built for combat so we prepared for an emergency fold while our fighters and escorts engaged them." Misa sighed. "Of the seven escorts, only the Shimada, Shichiroji and the Okamoto escaped with us. The Hayashida, Katayama, Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo were lost." She thought back to that bloody day. She had been friends with the commanding officers of each of the escorts and had personally picked them for those positions. Their loss still weighed heavily on her.<br>"Once the fold drive was spooled up, we recalled the fighters and the remaining escorts and made a run for it. But just as we went to fold, we took a volley from a Zentradi battleship. They were attempting to disable us and scored direct hits to the engines. We're still not sure how it happened but the damage caused a surge in our fold drive that created a massive fold bubble around the Megaroad and the remaining escorts." She looked Alto in the eyes. "We could not shut the fold engines down."  
>Misa saw the look of realization as it came over Alto's face.<br>"You mean to tell me you've been stuck in fold all this time?" He asked incredulously.  
>"Well, `all this time' to you was actually only several weeks for us," Misa replied. "Normally, that wouldn't be such a big deal, relatively. Maybe a dozen years in real time. But two weeks in, we attempted a forced shutdown. It was risky and it didn't work. In fact, it seemed to throw up a barrier that slowed us down even more. We still don't really understand what it was."<br>"Sounds like a fold fault," Alto said, nodding. "Basically, they're barriers within fold space. You can either go through them and be slowed down, or navigate around them. Either way they've become a major hindrance to fold travel. We first started encountering them maybe 12 or 15 years ago and now they seem to be everywhere."  
>Misa looked at Hikaru. He nodded to her.<br>"Captain," Misa began, "we're well aware we've been in fold for decades of real time. We did celestial readings that tell us so. But could you please be so kind as to tell us the exact date?"  
>"Major, Captain," Alto said, "today is Sept. 23rd, 2060."<br>"Fifty-four years," Misa whispered.  
>Hikaru came over and put his arm around her.<br>"Misa, it'll be OK," he told her.  
>She looked in his eyes and nodded.<br>Sheryl observed them, suddenly realizing these two were husband and wife. She noticed how Misa carried the weight of the crew and the colonists on her shoulders and yet looked to her husband for strength and encouragement. She saw parallels, of course.  
>"So what's the ship's status now?" Sheryl asked, surprising Alto.<br>But the question brought Misa back to business.  
>"No fold drive, no external communications. Internal power fluctuations. We expect to have power back to normal in the next couple days including to the city and the communications blackout stems from the fold radiation. Our experts say that should wear off in the next few days. It's something we picked up in fold space. Maybe from this fold fault you mentioned."<br>"One of my other two pilots is an expert in fold technology," Alto said. "I'll have him look into it when he lands."  
>Misa nodded.<br>Hikaru then said, "we've moved the escorts off to a distance. They've got the same basic problems we do so we decided to space things out a bit. We're shuttling messages back and forth and using the visual laser system. Morse code." He looked at Alto and smiled, acknowledging his use of the same code earlier. "Great minds..."  
>"And the Zentradi battle pods?" Klan asked.<br>"Latched onto the bottom of the hull just before we went to fold I suppose." Hikaru looked closely at Klan. "You're Meltran?"  
>"Yes," she responded.<br>He looked her over, thinking exactly how to phrase his next question.  
>But Klan could tell what was coming and defensively volunteered, "and when I'm micronized, for some reason, I take the form of an adolescent, OK?"<br>"Klan," Alto said, trying to calm her down.  
>Hikaru put his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I saw what you did out there. Obviously, you can handle yourself."<br>That drew a smile from Klan.  
>"You should see me at full size when I'm in my battle armor!"<br>Hikaru laughed and thought of his friend Max Jenius and his Meltran wife Milia.  
>"Klan, remind me to tell you sometime about a Meltran ace I know," he said, wondering if Max and Milia were still around. When things settle down I'll have to do some research.<br>"So that's our story," Misa said. "All five of your squad are invited for dinner at 1800 where we hope you'll bring us up to speed on the past 50 years or so. Hikaru will take you to quarters. You three look like you could use some sleep."  
>"You don't know the half of it," Sheryl replied as she linked her arm through Alto's.<p>

At dinner, Alto introduced Brera and Luca to Misa and Hikaru. And Misa introduced their three-year-old daughter Miku and their two-year-old son, Roy along with the Megaroads's Executive Officer Claudia LaSalle. Miku immediately gravitated to Sheryl and Klan, both of whom appeared rather clueless as to how to deal with an active three-year-old.  
>Alto tried his best to bring them up to speed on the major historical events of the past five decades. He included triumphs and tragedies of the colonization effort, briefly described the Varuta War and the war with the Vajra as well as the internal problems with the Frontier fleet's military. They were amazed by his descriptions of the New Macross colonization ships and their fleets but dismayed that one colonization could turn against another like the Galaxy did. Alto then had Luca brief them on fold faults and the new super fold boosters.<br>He also briefly explained that they were not official military but were still the de facto military of Hinan and the Frontier fleet.  
>"So the SMS?" Misa asked.<br>"A private military contractor," Alto said. "Originally the SMS was brought in simply to test new equipment and technology before turning it over to the military. But we quickly exceeded the NUNS in combat ability."  
>"NUNS?" Hikaru inquired.<br>"Sorry. New United Nations Spacy. NUNS for short."  
>"A wholly corrupt and ineffective group," Brera contributed. "From the top down."<br>"They're currently being re-organized," Alto explained. "The SMS has taken over almost all routine operations for the time being."  
>Claudia LaSalle frowned. "I'm not sure I like the idea of a private company having that kind of power."<br>"We have proven ourselves," Alto said defensively. "The new government has tasked the SMS with the rebuilding and re-training of the official military. We still answer to the government."  
>"Your owner must be making a lot of money," Claudia said dubiously.<br>"Well, that's a story," Alto replied. "The SMS' owner was part of the whole conspiracy with the Galaxy and the Frontier military and he disappeared sometime during the final battle with the Vajra. We believe he folded away in all the confusion. Records we found afterward indicate he had a fold-equipped Zentradi shuttle hidden on his island."  
>"Your owner was Zentradi?" Hikaru asked.<br>"Yes. And an enigmatic one at that. I only met him once. All his assets were seized and given over to the SMS itself. His current whereabouts are unknown. He refuses to be micronized so it's likely he's with other Zentradi."  
>"Or the Galaxy," Luca interrupted. "He was utterly obsessed with dominating the galaxy through controlling fold travel and communications. That kind of obsession doesn't die easily. I suspect we haven't heard the last of Richard Bilrer."<br>A look of shock came over the faces of Misa, Hikaru and Claudia.  
>"Did you say Bilrer?" Misa asked.<br>"Richard Bilrer. Yes, ma'am," Alto said.  
>"So, he's still around," Hikaru said to his wife.<br>"What's going on?" Alto asked. "You know Bilrer?"  
>"The forces that attacked us right before we were trapped in fold space - they were led by a Zentradi named Bilrer," Misa said. "And I mentioned earlier that he wasn't after the ship or seeking it's destruction. He was after a single passenger. He wanted us to just hand her over. As you said, `obsessed'."<br>"You mean to tell me Bilrer attacked a ship carrying more than 100,000 people to get his hands on just one person?" asked Alto incredulously. "Obsessed is right. Just who exactly is this passenger?"  
>"I am," a soft voice said from behind the group.<br>Alto heard a gasp from Sheryl as he turned to see who had spoken.  
>"My God," said a shocked Sheryl Nome. "Lynn Minmay!"<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

2016

"Seven more ships just de-folded!" Vanessa shouted above the sounding alarms.  
>"Damn," Claudia said. "That makes 32 so far. Prep the pinpoint barrier and keep the escorts between us and them."<br>"Launch the alert fighters!" came the voice as soon as the lift doors opened and before Misa had even stepped foot into the command center. "All hands to battle stations!"  
>"Aye," Claudia answered.<br>The bridge crew was already on the internal comms calling all crew to stations.  
>Misa walked calmly to her chair, still fastening the clips on her uniform.<br>"Have they made contact yet?" she asked.  
>"No, but their weapons are energized and there are formations of battle pods surrounding the fleet," Claudia said.<br>"Well, we knew running into Zentradi out here was a distinct possibility. And they aren't all thrilled about uniting with humanity."  
>"Alert fighters launched," Kim reported as four VF-4s raced past the bridge. "All other squadrons should be launching beginning in one minute."<br>"Start spooling up the fold engines," Misa commanded. "There's no way we can take the SDF-2 into combat."  
>Instantly, Misa wondered what prompted the idea of sending a colony ship like the Megaroad out into space like this with minimal armament. Seven escorts against a fleet. Damn.<p>

Below, VF-4's blasted out of the SDF-2's launch tubes as the first of the main force went to action.  
>"Skull Squadron, form up on me," Hikaru ordered.<br>The fighters formed a tight "V" with him at the front.  
>"OK, let's get out there. No one fires unless fired upon or I give the order. Got it?"<br>A series of "yes, Sirs" came back over the comm.  
>The escorts quickly grew as Skull squadron approached.<br>Behind, Ace Squadron, Fox Squadron and Bolt Squadron were also forming up.  
>Hikaru keyed a switch.<br>"OK Misa, talk to me."  
>"Four more ships just de-folded so that makes 36 now. They're all launching pods but so far they're staying within their own fleet. Likewise, I want you to stay within the escorts' skirmish line. We're prepping for fold so the second I give the order, I want you all on the way back here for emergency landings."<br>"Got it," Hikaru replied. As much as he hated to turn and run, he knew what the job was and getting the 'Road involved in a battle was not it.

"Major, Commander Britai for you," Vanessa reported.  
>"Put him on."<br>The green face with the jewel eyepiece appeared on the view screen.  
>"Major," he said "What have you gone and gotten us into this time."<br>Misa smiled despite the situation. She knew the newly appointed Commander Britai relished a fight and would be the first one in if came to that.  
>"Your guess is as good as mine Commander. For now hold your positions. We're readying the fold drives and plotting a course. When I give the word, I want all ships to fold away. If we can simply avoid this fight..." she trailed off.<br>Like Hikaru, Britai was loathe to run from a fight. But he joined this escort fleet knowing what the mission was all about. It was a testament to his friendship with Misa and Hikaru that he had volunteered for such a benign mission as colonization.  
>"As you wish, Major," he said. "But if you think that fleet is just on parade, I'm afraid we're going to soon find out otherwise."<br>He no sooner got the words out than alarms started sounding on the bridge.  
>Back on the SDF-2, Vanessa called out. "Major, the Zentradi fleet has opened fire on the Shimada!"<br>On the view screen, Britai's image shook.  
>"Well, there you have it Major."<br>"Yes," Misa said. "You have permission to return fire."  
>Britai looked off screen and issued a command.<br>"All ships, retaliate!"

A signal sounded causing Misa to turn to her right.  
>"A message from the Zentradi fleet," Shammy Milliome said.<br>"Let me see it," Misa said.  
>The bridge grew quiet as a bearded Zentradi appeared on the screen.<br>"Greetings Major Ichijyo. I am Commander Bilrer. We mean you and your vessel no harm."  
>"Seems unlikely," Misa interrupted. "You've folded into the area in numbers and with weapons charged and fighters launched."<br>"A show of strength if you will," he replied. "A show of strength that will not only continue, but increase if our demand is not met."  
>A flash appeared out ahead of the SDF-2.<br>"We've lost the Kyuzo!" Vanessa yelled.  
>Misa stood.<br>"You bastard! You haven't even issued your demands!"  
>"Oh, not demands," Bilrer corrected. "Demand. Just the one. And this battle will continue until it is met."<br>Misa was aware of the increasing noise from the many open comms on the bridge. She could tell the battle was intensifying. Out in space she could see the telltale flashes of explosions and the brighter points of lights that were the big capital ships. And she saw the second brilliant flash.  
>"Oh my God," cried Kim. "The Hayashida's gone."<br>"What is it," Misa asked the Zentradi. "What is this demand?" She said the word demand as if it was a curse word.  
>"It's very simple, Major. To save all the souls on board your ship, and all the remaining souls fighting valiantly right now, you will turn over Lynn Minmay to me. Immediately," he said, smiling.<br>"Minmay?" Misa said, not sure she had heard correctly.  
>Bilrer's smile disappeared and he snapped "yes, Minmay. Deliver her now and I will cease this attack. Delay and face the consequences."<br>"You can't honestly believe we'd turn over one of our crew to you," Misa said.  
>"I do believe that. You will bring her to me or I'll destroy your fleet, disable your vessel and come get her myself."<br>Out of the corner of her eye, Misa saw the screen flash "FOLD READY. EXECUTE FOLD?" And with and almost imperceptible nod, signaled Claudia to recall the fighters and escorts.  
>But while he may not have seen the nod, Bilrer definitely saw that the ships were beginning to fall back.<br>"Oh no you don't my dear. I'll not let you get away that easily," and he gave a nod of his own.  
>"Major! The Zentradi fleet is increasing fire on the escorts! They're even taking out their own battle pods to do so!"<br>Misa checked her readout. The SDF-2's fighter squadrons were heading back, fending off battle pods the whole way. The escorts were taking heavy fire but as she watched, two of the escorts slowed and drew close. The Katayama and Kikuchiyo were running a shielding maneuver allowing the Shimada, Shichiroji and Okamoto to get back to the SDF-2. Suicide, Misa thought.  
>"I'll go, Misa."<br>Misa looked up. Minmay stood next to her.  
>"Let me go. If it will save everyone..."<br>"The hell you will," Misa said.  
>"Ahh, Minmay," Bilrer said. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."<br>Minmay stared at him before finally speaking.  
>"I don't know who you are or why you are doing this. But I'll go with you if you spare these people."<br>"Well there you have it Major. She's agreed!"  
>Misa was growing more angry with every passing second. She also was getting the distinct impression that the Zentradi she was dealing with was not at all sane.<br>"Fine," Misa said. "Since she agreed to it. Cease your attack and we'll send Minmay over in a shuttle."  
>"What?" Claudia yelled, not believing what she just heard.<br>"Take her down to the shuttle bay," Misa ordered. "Take her over in the Shin Kudo."  
>Claudia stepped up to Misa.<br>"You sure about this?"  
>"No. Do it anyway."<br>Claudia and Minmay left the bridge.  
>Misa turned back to the view screen.<br>"She's on her way. Cease your attack."  
>"When I see the shuttle on it's way, I'll cease my attack. Not before."<br>The screen went dark.  
>"Damn," Misa said to herself as the bridge crew looked on in disbelief at the woman who had just turned Lynn Minmay over to the enemy.<p>

"I, I can't believe she's turning me over to them," a stunned Minmay said to Claudia in the lift."  
>"You volunteered."<br>"But," Minmay started before Claudia interrupted.  
>"Relax. We don't even have a shuttle called the Shin Kudo. The Major has a plan."<br>"Oh," Minmay said before fainting.

Skull Squadron continued to pick off battle pods as they headed back to the SDF-2 when Hikaru noticed a shuttle heading below them in the opposite heading. He immediately got on the comm.  
>"Major, what's the status on that shuttle?"<br>"Disregard the shuttle and get aboard. Now." was the curt response from his wife.  
>He knew when not to push it and when to just shut up and obey orders. He issued his own order for all fighters to return for immediate landing.<p>

The shuttle passed through the line of escorts and headed for Bilrer's flagship. The Zentradi, for their part, ceased fire but continued pursuit.

The huge bay doors closed and the tractor beam brought the shuttle in for a landing. Bilrer stood there and waved in two micronized Zentradi soldiers.  
>"Go on board and get Miss Minmay."<br>The two soldiers opened the shuttle's hatch and disappeared inside.  
>It was then that Bilrer noticed that the shuttle said "Bruno J. Global" stenciled over the hatch and not "Shin Kudo" as he had expected. Something is wrong. This is taking too long.<br>"What is taking so long?" he roared.  
>Slowly, and very tentatively, one of the soldiers stepped out of the shuttle. The other followed. Both appeared worried.<br>"Well? Where is Minmay?" Bilrer thundered.  
>The first soldier gradually pulled his arm from behind his back. In his hand he held a tiny Minmay doll dressed in a red satin kimono. He pushed a button on the doll's back and immediately the doll began "KYUN KYUN! KYUN KYUN!..."<br>But Bilrer was already screaming at the communications panel.  
>"RESUME FIRING. DESTROY ALL ESCORT SHIPS!"<p>

The Katayama and Kikuchiyo were hit repeatedly and exploded at the same time. But they had done their jobs. They had protected the remaining escorts and bought them time. Space around the SDF-2 and the last three escorts began to glow as fold space began to open. Hikaru brought his VF-4 in and braced for immediate fold.  
>"No!" Bilrer yelled as he stormed onto and across the bridge. "Take out it's engines! Fire!"<br>Pinpoints of fire erupted from the Zentradi ship and lanced across space, impacting on the SDF-2's massive engines. But too late. The SDF-2 and it's remaining escorts were enveloped by energy and disappeared into fold.


End file.
